The Ninth Army War Training Base had grown noticeably sparse. In the words of Old Man Xiaotao, the gatekeeper over at the living base, back in his hometown phrasing: soldiers became soldiers, instructors went off to be soldiers too, and as one crop arrived and another departed, another year of life passed.
Because of this, the base felt rather deserted. Aside from a handful of veterans back on leave, the base officers, and the garrison guard, almost the only people left were a few newly formed squads still in their preparatory period.
The instructors' building was practically vacant as well.
Lao Jian brewed a cup of Longjing tea from western Linzhou City in his standard-issue celadon mug. He took a sniff, set the lid on, picked it up, and strolled leisurely to the window, speaking in an offhand manner:
"Captain Milla, when you have a moment, have someone summon Han Qingyu to the office... Regarding the matter of selecting squad members, I was thinking it wouldn't hurt to let him sit in while we discuss it."
This was his way of lowering his captain's pride to ask for Han Qingyu's opinion. Head down, writing Chinese characters with her left hand, Milla stifled a laugh and said, "He went out on a mission."
"Oh... Huh?!" Captain Lao croaked like a frog. Struggling to manage his emotional reaction, he continued, "So suddenly? Why didn't it... go through my approval?"
"There probably wasn't enough time. You were busy back then, so Army Headquarters approved it directly. The few of them left in a big hurry, saying they would definitely return before the squad deployed," Milla added.
"Oh." A massive wave of dejection washed over him. Captain Lao thought to himself, *But I'm the captain! The captain...* The trouble was that for one particular soldier under his command, Army Headquarters—or even higher brass—was constantly bypassing the chain of command. Da Wa was unhappy.
"Actually, most of the veterans who signed up this time are very good, and two have already been settled on. Why don't the two of us decide the rest? If all else fails, we can ask the regimental commander for his thoughts."
"...Mm."
***
On the other side, a group of people looked at the warm, cheerful, mixed-race little Cuihua with a mix of emotions and expressions, mostly torn between tears and laughter.
A bastard like Wen Jifei was naturally not doing it purely for fun. From the moment they met, he had conducted this seemingly pointless probe to roughly gauge her temperament.
After all, stepping in there was a life-or-death matter, and the person calling the shots was a total stranger about whom they knew nothing. It was best to form a rough judgment beforehand.
"It doesn't look like an act," Han Qingyu concluded after observing her expression and state for a while. Yet this did not make him happy.
Due to a certain idiosyncratic mindset, he would have preferred her to be a shady villain—malicious, scheming, and calculating. In that case, many things would actually be much simpler for him.
If she truly was sincere and kind-hearted, then according to his principles, since he was taking advantage of her opportunity and already profiting from it, he would certainly have to do his utmost to keep her safe. Furthermore, divvying up the reward at the end would also become rather troublesome.
"Plague Chicken, you went too far. Such a fine *jianguo*, and the moment she ran into a 'scientist' like you, she got turned into Cuihua."
He Tangtang muttered lazily from behind. This was Yanjing dialect, also used as street slang: *jianguo* meant an attractive girl, while a handsome guy was called a *jiansun*. Within Azure, however, both terms were used rather mockingly; hardly any man would appreciate being praised that way. His remark made everyone want to laugh.
Mixed-race little Cuihua was not stupid either. Discerning from their expressions that something was off, she looked at Han Qingyu and asked, "Is this name not fierce?"
Seeing this, Wen Jifei hastened to cover his tracks: "Big Brother, your scientific research runs deeper than mine. Why don't you see about improving it? We've already accepted the money, after all."
Little Cuihua looked between the two of them. "Are you two brothers?"
Wen Jifei: "Yeah, full brothers."
Han Qingyu: "With different fathers and different mothers."
Little Cuihua blinked in confusion for a moment, then decided not to dwell on it. "What about my name?"
"It is very... fierce," Han Qingyu said after a moment's hesitation. "It's just that it happens to share the exact same name as an old granny who lives next door in my village, so I was thinking we could tweak it a bit."
Little Cuihua looked at him and nodded.
So, what to change it to? The group broke into lively discussion, some serious, some joking. Even Shen Yixiu, pretending to be a robot, secretly offered suggestions that Han Qingyu voiced on her behalf.
In the end, they produced a whole basket of names.
Mixed-race little Cuihua listened to all the explanations and carefully deliberated for quite a while. Ultimately, she settled on two: Yin Caixin and Yin Suyi. She said one was cute and fun, while the other sounded very Huaxian and elegant, and she wanted both.
"Then take both. Treat one as a pet name and one as your formal name. The rest can be backups, ready to be swapped in at any time... and your original name can be used alongside them as well."
Han Qingyu really did not want to waste any more time on this matter and made the final call.
And so, upon their very first meeting, Yin Caixin accumulated a whole hoard of Chinese names.
Shortly afterward, led by her, the group arrived at a hotel arranged by the Alphonse family for their temporary stay.
This was not the Third Fixed Exploration Site; word had it that it was still some distance away, though the surroundings were quite secluded.
The hotel was virtually full, packed with young faces from various nations, including people from the Huaxia Front.
Inside a newly opened large room,
Yin Caixin took out a sheet of paper printed with artistic flair and placed it on the table.
During this time, she exchanged several words in French and English with the foreigners she had brought along.
As for language barriers, Han Qingyu and the others were not worried. Rusty Sister actually understood some foreign languages. Although she couldn't speak them well, she could grasp the general meaning; during those five or six lonely years, she had learned many things on her own out of sheer isolation.
Looking up at Han Qingyu and the others, Yin Caixin said, "This is the theme for this year's trial. Let me translate it for you."
A theme?! This thing even had a theme?
Han Qingyu was somewhat at a loss when it came to the sensibilities of that romantic French Starlight senior who had later become a painter.
"There's always a theme. Mr. Alphonse advocates the spirit of romanticism in warfare."
"Oh, go ahead then."
"The theme this time is Knights and... Princess." As Yin Caixin spoke, she looked both slightly pleased and shy, because by this logic, she was evidently the princess this time around.
"What the heck?!" He Tangtang asked bluntly from the side.
"It means that only when the girl in the team perseveres to the very end can the team be declared the winner and claim that bonus metal block."
"..."
Han Qingyu turned back, and the group swiftly huddled together, whispering among themselves:
"Could she be taking advantage of us not reading that stuff to swindle us?"
"It's entirely possible."
"But we have Rusty Sister. At least her voice sounds right—wonder if she counts."
"Wait, why are none of you wishing the little jianguo well? You just assume she's going to flop?"
"Knights and princess, my foot. This is clearly an empress game... With this rule backing her once we're inside, won't she act like a total tyrant, raising hell and throwing her weight around?"
"Then we'll find a way to make her behave," Han Qingyu said.
Yin Caixin tilted her head up, looking at their backs with a bewildered gaze for several moments. "You guys?"
"Nothing. Just discussing how best to protect you. Go on," Wen Jifei said, turning his head.
"Mm."
Yin Caixin conscientiously translated the rest of the mission briefing.
In general, it was not complicated: only five people per team were allowed to enter, and there had to be one girl.
"Was it like this before?"
"No, it changes every time. The last theme was 'My Brothers', and fifteen-man squads went in." Yin Caixin said apologetically, "So I'm really sorry. I didn't know in advance either..."
This meant that more than half the people present wouldn't be able to enter. He Tangtang grew a bit anxious. "Then the guy who made the rules this time must be out of his mind! Letting so few people in."
"Yeah, with a lineup like that, even if the girl entering isn't weak, it still wouldn't be enough to chop down a Great Spike!" Liu Shiheng muttered. "So is this intentionally meant to force everyone to find allies and team up inside, cultivating teamwork?"
Yin Caixin nodded repeatedly. "Yes, according to the mission briefing, Mr. Alphonse did mean exactly that. He said that in the future, we have to prepare for a chaotic war of full-scale invasion, where maintaining intact formations won't always be possible. Just like units scattered in real combat, we must quickly regroup..."
This explanation sounded quite reasonable.
Yet Han Qingyu vaguely felt something was amiss.
As he was pondering...
He was interrupted.
Yin Caixin glanced around somewhat awkwardly at everyone present. "So, out of our group, who should be the ones to enter in the end?"
There were thirteen people here, and Yin Caixin herself was locked in.
"My degree of fusion is Grade B+," she offered voluntarily, a trace of unease in her eyes.
"A," Han Qingyu said.
Then he spoke on Shen Yixiu's behalf: "Full-armor warrior, stronger than me."
"I know." Looking at Shen Yixiu's suit of armor, Yin Caixin smiled and nodded with kindness in her eyes.
Evidently, she had already learned about Shen Yixiu's general situation from her grandfather.
Next was He Tangtang: "I'm Grade B+ too."
"I..." Liu Shiheng said, "Forget it. I'll watch our stuff outside."
Wen Jifei: "My situation is somewhat complicated... I won't be going."
Since letters were used, the foreigners on Yin Caixin's side could naturally understand. The group chattered in discussion for a moment.
Finally, Yin Caixin spoke up: "The people I contacted and hired include Grade B and Grade C... but they say that degree of fusion does not equal combat strength."
This was true. There were considerations regarding talent realization as well as time spent wearing the armor.
Han Qingyu nodded. "Understood."
From his perspective, he naturally hoped the other four entering would all be his own people, or at least He Tangtang should go in, to make things easier.
Yin Caixin still looked apologetic, seemingly embarrassed about what came next. "Then..."
"It's fine. Say it straight."
"There is a small sparring ground here."
"Fine. But you provide the source energy blocks used for sparring."
"..."
***
At the sparring ground.
Perhaps to ease the awkward atmosphere of this internal competition, Yin Caixin stepped forward first on her own initiative. "I... even though I don't need to be selected, I'll demonstrate my strength as well, so it's easier for you to understand..."
"This is my strongest move."
*Hum.* The apparatus engaged.
Yin Caixin activated...
Her side took it in stride, but on Han Qingyu's side, the group was left dumbfounded.
"An invincible hot-wheels whirl?!"
After watching for a while, Wen Jifei finally couldn't help marveling.
Up on the sparring platform, Yin Caixin, who was not particularly burly, gripped a dead iron straight sword slightly longer and wider than the standard-issue blades of the Huaxia Front with both hands... and was spinning!
Admittedly, she spun very fast, with decent explosive power, extending and retracting the long blade in her hands as she went.
*Whirr-whirr-whirr*—she spun toward the upper-left corner.
*Whirr-whirr-whirr*—toward the edge of the center platform.
*Whirr-whirr-whirr*—an S-shaped trajectory.
*Whirr-whirr-whirr*—losing all discernible pattern...
She was practically taking flight.
*Whirr-whirr-whirr*—spinning non-stop, maneuvering non-stop.
"Is that a spinning top?" He Tangtang asked.
"A helicopter," Wen Jifei said.
"Either works," Liu Shiheng said. "So, do you guess her footwork is entirely under her own control, or is she just whirling around completely at random?"
Han Qingyu: "I'm only curious if she gets dizzy."
The answer was: she did.
Yin Caixin finally ground to a halt, leaning heavily to the left. Her feet stumbled through several hasty steps before she managed to steady herself. Turning around, she looked up at Han Qingyu and the others, catching her breath, fine beads of sweat dotting her forehead. "Was that okay?"
"It was fine. Very impressive," Han Qingyu said calmly. "Just... once we're inside, whatever you do, never use that move."
Yin Caixin blinked, puzzled. "Why?"
"Because... it's too fierce," Han Qingyu replied. "We're afraid you might hurt us."
Chapter 120